The Hindu : Cauvery Tribunal notice to Karnataka

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Friday, Jul 25, 2003

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Cauvery Tribunal notice to Karnataka

By J. Venkatesan

NEW DELHI JULY 24. The Cauvery Water Disputes Tribunal has issued notice to the Karnataka Government on an application from Tamil Nadu, seeking to restrain Karnataka from proceeding with the execution of the Rs. 40-crore Nugu Lift Irrigation Project on the Cauvery or its tributaries.

The Tribunal issued notice on Wednesday, returnable in two weeks, and gave Tamil Nadu a week's time thereafter to file its rejoinder, if any.

In its application, Tamil Nadu said that there were media reports that the Karnataka Chief Minister, S.M. Krishna, would lay the foundation for the project at Birwal village in Heggadevanakote taluk and Rs. 30 lakhs had already been released for it. It wrote to Karnataka on July 2 seeking information on the project but no reply was received. The application said that the present proposal of Karnataka was to pump 28 tmcft of water during the four monsoon months from the Kabini even as it built a reservoir to prevent surpluses in the Kabini dam and deny water to Tamil Nadu.

It noted with concern that such pumping of water would deny flows from the Kabini to Mettur. With already insignificant contribution from the KRS any further abstraction in the Kabini arm would seriously affect down stream irrigation in Tamil Nadu.

Senior counsel for Tamil Nadu, C.S. Vaidyanathan, also brought to the notice of the Tribunal that Karnataka was reported to have established a Cauvery Nirvari Nigam Ltd. on the lines of the Krishna Jala Bhagya Nigam. The proposed Nigam was to generate Rs. 5,000 crores through bonds to complete about 10,000 works in the river basin.

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